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Here we go again. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Shaduro Shotgun takes a snap, whips it down to sidelines. There's been a lot of talk of Shadur Sam. I can't wait to see what happens Friday night.
Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. And it appears he's going to play most of the game. It's caught. It's a touchdown. The Rich Eisen Show.
What a massive opportunity. Earlier on the show. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. Coming up. Fox Sports College Football Insider Bruce Feldman.
And the award-winning mentalist Oz Perlman. And now. It's Rich Eisen. Hour number two of the Rich Eisen show is on the air. 844-204, which is the number to dial Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports.
We'll talk college football, baby. College football's hitting now. You know what I mean? Let's go. College football's hitting.
He's got his freaks list that's out there on the athletic. It's always a fascinating story hearing how somebody is, you know. Eight foot nine and can run a 40-yard dash in less than three minutes. I mean, three seconds, and you know, and lifts five million pounds. It's amazing.
It's always a fun read. And he's going to be out here in the studio in just 20 minutes' time and then hour three. Oh, is the mentalist? We'll be here. Do not miss it.
He's got a new book out. He wants to talk about his new book called Read Your Mind. Interesting. It's about reading mind. All that on brand.
Right. Calling it on brand. 844-204-Rich is the number to dial. You know what? It's kind of crazy.
We forget sometimes. I'd load it down here just to make sure it's. It's true. I wrote it down here. I'll have it right here.
Okay. Do you think I wrote it down, or is this? No, this is a total bit, but I can't wait to see where you're going. Oh, yeah. Good combs.
Camboard was drafted first overall. There you go. Didn't see that coming. Yeah. Oh.
Yeah. A quarterback got drafted first overall. I understand where he's playing. Oh, yeah, Tennessee. Titans.
You think a lot of people know that?
Well, I mean, I wrote down. If I wrote it down, I mean you wrote it down. I'm just, you know, did anyone else write it down? We got other things in here. Oh yeah, he's gonna he's you know, he's gonna start week one.
Oh yeah. In Denver. I can't wait to see what happens. Number one defense in the league class. I know, right?
Tough spot. Tough spot. And they only got better. Tough spot. This offseason.
Tough spot. to say the least. But Let's see what's going to go down. Let's see what's going to go down, because it's not like the Titans have a bear uh a bear cupboard. You know what I'm saying?
Mm-hmm. They're at Tampa, which is not also an easy spot. That is on Saturday, right in the middle of the day. There's a triple header on NFL network, giants at bills. That's at 1 Eastern in Houston and Minnesota.
Uh at uh For Eastern time, C.J. Gardner Johnson just went down on the practice field of Texans. I saw that over the commercial break. And then it's the Jets at the Packers. That's a.
An NFL network triple header. But the reason why I bring it up is the Titans.
So you're going to see Cam Ward out there. I mean, let's get the kid reps, let's get him some game action, because he's a gamer. Hit it. No, I'm listening to Coach Kyler, and you know, I'm ready to play the whole time if I need to. But this is also a big evaluation, not only for myself, but for the whole team.
You know, I'm ready to make plays when my numbers call. How excited are you for that opportunity to get out there for the first time playing? To be on stuff. I'm really excited to just be on the grass again. To just really put everything that I worked for out there and just try to lead my teammates and try to get a win out there.
Okay. I like 'em. Cam Ward. It's going to have the uh The Tony Pollard, Tajay Spears. Two-headed running back room, right?
Saw what they can do there. He's also got Tyler Lockett in his huddle. Let's not forget about that. Calvin Ridley, we all know. Van Jefferson, we all know.
Unfortunately, Traylon Burks is definitely not there anymore. What a bummer for that kid. Couldn't say healthy.
Well, I mean, as if You didn't have enough. Shoes to fill. Hey, right. Hey, we're going to trade around. AJ Brown's gone.
But you're the same height, weight, speed guy. Let's see the same results. Your comp coming out of the draft was A.J. Brown, so that'll be great. What's Cameron Ward going to look like?
What is he going to look like? And Brian Callahan is obviously somebody who knows. You know, offense. The schedule, I could see it's already prepped. We might as well pop it up there, everybody.
I think home opener against the Rams, week two. That ain't easy. They've got some divisional games. Three games in a row on the road at Houston, at Arizona, at Vegas. New England at Indianapolis home for the Chargers.
There are some, if you will, winnable games. I get it.
So the Titans Nobody's talking about that there's a first overall drafted quarterback. And I just can't wait to see what this kid's going to do. And the first thing that he does that's excellent, and everyone's going to start talking about how terrific the kid looks, because I'm expecting good things from him. I really am, right? I'm right there with you.
And it's because he's all he's got the special in him and he's got the red ass in him. And he seems to be really serious about his craft, right?
Okay. And um Second. That I just can't wait to bring up the fact that everyone's going to wonder, was he such a good teammate that he left his bowl game in the middle? Remember that nonsense. Remember that craziness?
Forget that that was the pre-planned course of action. You know, like what's he doing? What's he doing leaving the game in the middle? Is he really a good teammate? I mean, all that stupid stuff.
That happens, you know. That was real time. That was before he even, you know. Before he Was the clear first overall pick. Don't forget, there was a ton of.
Draft, mock drafts that had Shadur one overall. Abdul Carter was one overall. Yeah. Travis Hunter, we talked about Travis Hunter confirmer, I know, right? And Travis Hunter now going to be.
Marking somebody, but maybe he'll be on Ridley, he'll be on Lockett. When Cam Ward is in the pocket. That rhymed. Yeah. Locking in the pocket.
Yeah, so. I would love to see him out there preseason. Let's go. Let's see it. Let's go.
Right? Easy for me to say, but you got to get the reps in. Certainly, since that is a steep curve. Denver, everybody loves the Denver Broncos right now. Everybody.
Speaking of Travis Hunter, you know how I feel about it, right? Yeah. I think you're ready to adopt him. I mean, sure. Sure.
Son number five. Listen. Adopted? Six? The media world's changing.
The sports world's changing. Just look what's going on with us. Look what's going on with NFL Network, right? It's all changing. And You know, we're all battling for eyeballs.
We're trying to find the eyeballs and the ear gates. where where they live. That's all we're trying to do. We're trying to connect. Trying to get people interested, trying to get stuff when, you know, there's a million podcasts, there's a million things you could do and pay attention to.
Lots of sports to pay attention to. The reason why I bring it up is Sure, am I ready to adopt Travis Hunter? I've never met him. I've heard only great things about him, okay? But I love the opportunity.
And I love the fact that in this football loving universe that we we we We in which we pay rent, right? Then There's a first of its kind. Potentially. Growing in Duval County, you know, and so. I want to see it.
I want to see. Yeah. A lot of snaps. I want to see 80% of the snaps on offense, like Liam Cohen said. There's a reason why what Liam Cohen said here on the program kind of went in many different directions after he said it.
You know, I did ask him: can he be offensive and defensive rookie of the year? And I appreciate the coach basically saying it's possible. He didn't. Tampa down, he's He's not going to tamp down any speaking into existence types of things. He also sees firsthand how hard he works and he goes into meeting rooms.
He admitted, Liam Cohen, that. He does need to tamper the expectations of the kid himself. He also needs to play, you know. Mediator. Traffic cop between offensive and defensive staffs who want them in their rooms.
Right? And it was interesting. I guess, was it Teron Armstead or somebody here who pointed out? That It's not easy to go on the practice field. Try and beat somebody in a wrap.
And then Show up in their meeting room. as a teammate. I'm going to try and beat you, my defensive backmate, when I'm a wide receiver. Oh, and then I'll see you later in the cornerback room. Let's talk about it.
Of the film of me beating you. Like that that's not easy to navigate either So Liam Cohen saying like this is going to happen. Made me very happy.
So let me just say I want to adopt that notion.
So, why are you going to be such a buzzkill, Devontae Adams? Yeah. I know. With all due respect. Yeah, I saw this.
Mm-hmm. Why do we gotta get a little dose of a buzz and a kill? Yeah. This is what Devontae Adams had to say on the subject matter of of uh of Travis Hunter playing both ways successfully and for a long time. I don't even think it's possible to do for real, not at a high level, and then go in there.
It's hard enough to go. Cover a punt and then be on one side, you know. And I haven't done it. I'm not acting like I'm on kickoff or a punt, but I can see the dudes, and I know, you know, you got your guys, and you see the yardage of my yardage over the game versus somebody that starts on offense and then plays special teams as well. Like, that's just a lot of mileage, man.
And I don't know how long I'm not even concerned so much if he can do it over the course of. A game or a season, it's more like how long is his career gonna be if he's playing that many snaps? Because you just all you're doing is doubling your risk for injury, one. And I don't wish any of that on him. I hope that he can play an injury-free season and go ball out.
But I mean, that's just the reality. The more you're on the field, the I mean, it's already 100% injury guarantee. You know, once you get out there playing both sides, and now you got to tackle, you got to tackle Derrick Henry. With that frame, like, I mean, he's athletic as hell, but the athleticism, he better do some ninja if you want to use that to get him. It's a lot of football to play.
Some ninja ass. That has been my point right there. That's funny. Why does he got to be so? Realistic?
Realistic about it. No, no, I understand that. Hater, Edmund, I'm not. That's not hater. It's not hater.
It's just, you know, a part of me. Gets that dose of reality coming from an OG in a future Hall of Famer and Devontae Adams. Makes me go, wow. I see your point. You know, like you're you've been there and done it.
And look at you know it. And by the way, everyone that's sitting there on the pivot knows it. You know, and so you know, there's no pushback for a reason. You know, and I understand all that.
So there's part of me that's saying, damn it. Those are the headwinds. That my Loving this idea of Travis Hunter getting out there and doing all that stuff. is um It's there, it's real, and and it's it's It's uh a dose of reality that uh is a cold water that Also leads me to think, on the other hand, to say to Devontae Adams and his incredible Vast. Hall of Fame experience.
Stick to tacos in your basement, man. Wow. You know what I mean? Uh I understand what your lane is. Your lane's pretty damn wide.
Yep. Good, great lane. Glane offensive. That's a hell of a lane. I like that lane.
Yep, great lane. You know, you want to sign up for that lane? Yep. I mean, I'm not even talking about as a human being. I mean, he's great in that lane, too.
And he's just trying to bring a human approach of like, hey, man. We're human, we're flesh, we're blood, you know, and you want to play in this league a long time, so don't. But I want to see it anyway. Try it. Right.
What's the Gretzky line? You miss 100% of the shots. Shots you don't take. Let's take the shot. What's the harm in trying?
I'm just saying, that's what I tried to tell you for weeks. It doesn't mean anything coming for me.
So now you have someone who you has actually been there. You want Travis Hunter run down, bro. I do not want him run down. I want a 15 years of Travis Hunter. I want him to prove that it can be done and he can.
Get through the season. that he can be the one who doesn't. Get dinged up. to the point where he can Do this. Like he's the one, he's the unicorn.
I'd love to see it Neo, right? Like this is it. Like this, he's the one. He's the Matrix. Let's go.
Let's see it. It's such a rare opportunity. But it's the NFL, not college. That's the difference. Like you tell those guys in the bars, Mike, you think you can.
Yeah, it's going to be. You stick to tacos in your basement, too. It's Dell Tuesday. I want to ask you Dell Tuesday. Dell Tuesday.
Dell Tuesday. Dell Tuesday. I heard that. They follow me. Seriously, it's going to be hard.
I want them to do it, too. I just don't want to hear it. I want them to do it. Look, you'll get it for a few games, I'm sure. Absolutely.
No, I want to see it for a season. I want offensive and defensive rookie of the year. I want to see Otani in cleats. Otani In pass. Look, that would be amazing.
That's what I want. That would be amazing. Except though Tanya missed a full season of doing one of those things because of the badges. Yeah, my arm. If he wins both, Rich.
Let's go. Rich to Darmus. You are. You don't really bum me up. You think Devontae's got the Taco Bell out here?
I think he is whatever he wants.
Well, I'm just saying, there's a lot of better taco spots in LA. All right, good to know. All right, 844-204-H number Dennis. Let's bring Bruce Feldman out here. Bruce.
Bruce. They're not saying Boo. They're saying Bruce. Bruce. Bruce.
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Swing by Verizon today for our best phone deals. 3-year price guarantee applies to then-current base monthly rate only. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers. Back here on the program, ladies and gentlemen, it's been a while. Welcome back to our show from Fox Sports and the Athletics.
Bruce Feldman, good to see you, sir. How are you? I'm doing good, good to see you. Fresh off the Fox. What, NFL/slash college football symposium, right?
Sure it is. Retreat. Retreat. Off-site.
Now, listen, let me explain to everybody. Back in the day, Um all major networks had massive retreats. But there's been a, if you will, retreat. In terms of having massive retreats. Fox, though.
is not one of those people. Right? We're blowing it out still, right? They're blowing it out. It is an impressive gathering.
Out there in Tiranea. Were you invited, Mike? Not sure.
Well Rich. Was Mike there? Did you see Mike there? I did not see him. He might have been under the bar by the time I got there, though.
Are you below the line? Are you below the line? Is that what it is? Yeah, I'm on technicians. But you won Emmys.
What's going on? It doesn't matter. I was in Bristol, number one. Jerry Steinberg's not there. He's not there.
He's signing himself by the pool. I don't need to go to that. I mean, that's like. But you won all the Emmys. That's for Bruce.
Who is there? Give me the. Uh give me the headliners. The headliners are like our NFL crew. It's like all these.
your two most proud alums on the Michigan side, you know, Charles and But you said they brought Jimmy Johnson back, huh? Just to say hi to people? Is this Fight Club? I don't know. Is it Spike Club?
Are we not allowed to talk about it? I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it, but we're starting to talk about it. I mean, it's Jimmy Johnson. They brought him back. Yeah, I mean, like, a figure, not just.
You know, like one cool really cool thing about it is I think a lot of the Behind the scenes, people, you know, you just have a lot of reverence for the people you might have. I mean, I used to be a sideline reporter. You work with different crews, you know, people from different places. Right. Um, As somebody who's kind of interacted with a bunch of the NFL people, it's cool because you just, as they'll say, you like, really the one or two nights of the year, you really, everybody gets to see everybody.
Right. So that's pretty awesome. And they have like, You know, on the NFL side, we have like legends, you know, as you know. Of course. It's not just Charles and Tom Brady.
It's like, I mean, there's Howie Long. It's Terry. I mean, I grew up a huge Steeler fan way back when it's Terry Brad.
So I was like, that's a big deal to me. Bruce Feldman back from the back from the Frox Sports pre-football season retreat. Bruce, first item up for bids here for us is what I spoke about at the end of the first hour in an interview with Texas Monthly, Archie Manning, the patriarch of the Manning. Uh empire, if you will. Saying that Arch is going to stay at Texas no matter what happens this year, he's not leaving for the NFL after 2025.
That's not going to happen, is what he said. What's your opinion of all of this? I'm not surprised at all. We did a big story on Arch about Six weeks ago. And it was really from the perspective of Cooper, his dad, and Ellen, his mom, and how they raised him and just the process of raising the next Manning, but also just raising kids in the social media era, which is obviously different than what Archie's Three boys came through.
But one of the things that I remembered Cooper telling me was. I think they were very mindful of. There's no need to rush if you, you know, it's. I think he's seen plenty of examples of the NFL world is quick to throw guys under the bus. You know, as soon as if things don't go great, right out of the gate, like Caleb Williams is a perfect example.
Well, the other one I remember us talking a little bit was Baker, Baker Mayfield. That's another goal. Right. And he finds a great second act now in Tampa. Which is technically his fourth act.
Fourth act. I'm not saying that to nitpick. It's just how there was a journey that nobody saw coming when he was first overall. Yeah. And so we talked about that.
And I think, you know, he really had a lot of perspective on that in that, you know, being ready. When you're ready, like it's really important. And it was like no real need to rush, rush the process.
So I'm not surprised. The other thing that I think people lose sight of because Arch's name has been out there, we've talked about him for a long time, I feel like, on this show. And I feel like people forget he's only started a couple of games. And this is his first time. It's his team.
And for one season, even if it's 16 games, which the season is obviously now longer for really good college football teams, it's still not that much of a sample size. And so I know, you know, I kind of saw a little bit of the social media chatter off of the comments from Archie about this. And just in the back of my head, not even the back of my head, I was like, okay. You know, you can all have your perspectives on what's good for business or whatever and money. Like, the Mannings know more about developing quarterbacks than anybody else does.
Right. Both sons, who are highly rated coming out of high school, blossomed into great. you know Iconic quarterbacks. Everything that seems like they've done with Arch to this point seems like it's been spot on.
So somebody can say, oh, yeah, it's like, it doesn't make sense to do this, or you know, they can talk about business or whatever, like, A, They're doing well financially. He's and B. Everybody I've talked to there, including somebody I talked to yesterday at UT. Things he's loving. You know, having the time of his life there.
Well, I'm glad to hear that because, um, When I saw this quote from Archie as well, Uh I thought it could also be a great way to just Let's not. Say, let's not have this conversation. with this kid. This year. Like, let him, because they, you know, obviously the Mannings know all about developing.
Quarterbacks they also know about. business, they also know about life, right? This kid is going to have an opportunity to be the Starting quarterback at the University of Texas, Let him be a kid. Let him be a kid on campus. Let him be the BMOC.
Peyton remembers what it was like on campus. in Knoxville. And it's different now, by the way, because of the camera phones and all the social media channels. I was saying like when when when when I was thinking to myself when you were like that social media when Peyton and and Eli and and and Cupper were were of that age You know, Snapchat was basically like about cadence for them. You know what I mean?
Like that.
So that said. Just let him be a kid and try and provide the cover for it. Because the NFL is going to be there, and one would think, like, if he does have a monster season. And they do survey the scene and go, you know what? A really good organization with a really good coach and a really good ownership group and a really good front office.
has the first overall pick or would move up to take Arch. Got to consider that. Like that may be something that is down the road, but why not just provide him some cover right now and say, don't ask him about it. Don't make this season about what's next. In the NFL, just make it about let him just live in an Austin bubble and go about his business, be a BMOC, and live his collegiate life because that day will soon be over.
And I think part of it isn't even the opposite of the BMOC part. I think, even though that's going to be there, I think. Everything I've heard from Their family, but also the people at UT who I talk to, is he gets to be as much of a regular guy as he can be there. Yes. Right?
You go to the NFL. Um And all that changes, right? And so I just think. Time is on his side.
Now The one thing of all, and I get it, where it's like, you know, there's different situations. The situation that Caleb went to is very different than the one Jaden Daniels went ended up in last year. And that's kind of a fickle process, how it can kind of play out. You know, there's an injury component that obviously people can worry about. It's a physical sport, but I just.
In terms of like maximizing who he is as a quarterback with reps, with time on task, with all the experience and exposure. That benefits him in the long run, but it certainly benefits him in the short run, especially. And then the other side of it is if he's you know, done everything he wants to do to To be at Texas, this is why it's really important.
Now, listen, it's his team. Why, you know, why would you want to rush that? I mean, if you're him now, I get it why. All of us in the media world, it gives us something to talk about because he is such a recognizable brand, even if they don't want to be a brand. That's what he is to outsiders.
Bruce Feldman here from Fox Sports and the Athletic. It's too bad Arch's first game as the starter this year, no one's going to see. Wait a minute. What a monster game. I mean, you must be, and everybody at big noon on Fox, and everybody must be out of their minds.
In anticipation of Of Labor Day weekend. Have we ever had a one versus two on week zero? No, well, that's not, it's week one. Week zero is the week before. My bad.
But you can watch the Kansas Fresno Steak am I. Thank you, sir. We'll do that.
Well done. There'll be something extra. But yeah, I mean, this is this is insane. What a first big game. Like, what's your first blush thoughts?
Obviously, you've got the defending national champs moving in a new direction at quarterback themselves. What do you got for me? Can't wait. I mean, I would argue that the best player in the country is at Ohio State. That's Jeremiah Smith.
I mean, he was number one on my freaks list this year. He is a guy. If he was in the draft, I think he would be the first pick in the draft. He is that special. Right now.
Yeah. I mean, I saw what he did last year. I I I understand. But okay, keep going. I didn't mean to.
I mean, the interesting part here with Ohio State, obviously defending national champs, as you said, Will Howard, the quarterback, who played really well down the stretch, he's now off in the NFL. They have to replace him, whether it's, you know, Julian Sane was the big recruit who's. Very accurate and I think he'll be the guy, but Lincoln Keenholtz is a guy who's been around, you know, more athletic, bigger. It gives them more of a running presence at the quarterback. I want to say similar, similar to Will Howard, but has.
has some some of that in him. The part that is the wild card for me for Ohio State is both coordinators are gone, right? Chip Kelly, who did a really good job, especially with the run game last year. He's now in Las Vegas with Pete Carroll and Jim Knowles, who did an amazing job with the defense, he's at Penn State.
So now you get Matt Patricia, who's never been a college coach running the defense, and Brian Hartline, who's been an amazing receivers coach.
Now he steps up into that role. They don't have those two great running backs, and those guys were dynamite for Ohio State. I think that's the biggest area where there's going to be a drop-off. It's not at quarterback. I think that's the part where you're like, man, they had.
Trayvion Henderson and Quinchon Judkins were a... Lethal one-two punch, and they really exploited it last year in that offense. I'm not saying they're not going to be a playoff team. I still think they're loaded. You know, I mean, Caleb Downs is probably the best defensive player in the country.
He's a safety. And obviously, Jeremiah Smith is the best offensive player.
So you start with that. They got great linebackers who can run and are big and impressive. But there is some There's probably going to be some growing pains a little bit just because new coordinators, and again, I think they. I think they're going to miss the run game element just because the talent in that running back room isn't the same as it used to be. I mean, though, they seem to just keep on.
Turning home. They do, man. They do. It's not like, but I understand you still need to see it, and you need to see it to the level of what we saw, national championship quality. I understand that.
Have we gotten through the. If Ryan Day drops one game, he should be fired, stuff. Do you get a sense that from the Black Eye Faithful that last year's magical run was enough? What do you think? Yeah, I think now look, lose to Michigan again.
And I don't know how they react to that, but that's three months away. But I understand. And listen, you know, I have my fun with this, and I love it, by the way. I love talking. This is one of my favorite subject matters, you know.
I know. But wouldn't last year just go ahead and prove that that regular season game, as much as we love it, as much as big noon Fox loves to have it, that it's really all now about. the games after such a thing, and that truly the next big, massive All stakes. On the table, Michigan-Ohio State game will be the first time we ever see it in the college football playoffs. Like, wouldn't when you say that, like, wouldn't.
Logically, I would agree with everything you're saying, but logic doesn't work in that. You know, I get it. I think he's a terrific coach. I think he's done an amazing job there. But it's just like, I know there is that element of the Ohio State fan base.
I'm not going to guess at what the quantity, you know, what the percentage of how big that is. But. I think it just kind of lurks around, especially because last year Michigan was really down. That is correct. That was correct.
That was one of the most stunning Michigan wins, period. It doesn't matter against who. And moving on, I guess, for Michigan, do we see the kid? Is it going to be Bryce Underwater? I think it's going to be Bryce Underwood.
You do. You know, very talented. He does not have like elite pieces around him, right? Like they have. I don't think it's the old caliber of the old line that JJ had when they were, you know, winning a national title.
The run game, you know, they've added some transfers, and I just don't think they have a lot of firepower around them receiver-wise. And before, obviously, when they won a national title, I thought, I honestly thought it fit well because JJ could make plays when he had to, was a good runner, could throw on the run. They had quorum, they had a, you know, they had. Loveland, when he was healthy, but it wasn't like they had this really explosive offense. They do not have a lot.
of pieces around Bryce Underwood. Where I think he's gonna put up big numbers. I do think last year they were so bad on offense. You have a new offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsay. I imagine they will be.
Better, but Khalil Mullings was actually terrific for them. No, there's no doubt. I mean, he put the program on his back at times.
Well, against USC, for sure. Against, yeah, no doubt. And then again, and then against him, he put USC on his back, right? It's right. USC was on his back.
That's right.
So Penn State is two in the conference? Or they can overtake Ohio State that game at the same time. They're talented. Yeah, they're talented enough. Obviously, Drew Aller is a guy with a lot of physical talent.
He's probably raising his hand saying, what are you talking about, Arch? I don't think he wants that talk right now. Nobody wants that talk at this point. Let me just go out and do it. They've upgraded a lot at receiver, which they had to do in the portal.
Trevor Pena, who I think somebody here knows, has seen a lot of, really good receiver at Syracuse. I know talking to James Franklin, he's talked about how he's kind of hit the ground running athletically there. But they have three guys that have come in. They're loaded. Both running backs came back.
That's a wow thing because usually you may get one to come back, but not both. Right. The offensive line is elite. They have a bunch of freaky athletes on the defensive side. I think the biggest question mark for them.
Is just It Not a question mark. The thing I'm most interested to see is Jim Knowles, who did such a good job everywhere he's been, Oklahoma State, and then certainly at Ohio State. And he knows what it takes. to to see Ohio State 'cause he was up saw it up close. You know, this is a team, a program that often lived and died.
you know, in man coverage. And that's great when you, but when you play Ohio State, that's not great. That's a tough ask. And I think Jim Knowles is very good at having answers and keeping people off balance. I really want to see, because they did a really good job with Andy Cotel-Nicky.
That was the offensive coordinator they brought in last year. But I think on the other side of the ball, I think maybe Jim Knowles has the ability to take them one notch up, which is a national title team. Let's talk prime. Obviously, is health issues front and center? And it appears, again, the You know, we're getting through.
Um his bladder cancer. Um or he's working through it and he's he's healthy or on the track. And then before that it was all about Shador and being drafted.
Now that If we can place those two things aside, what does Colorado look like in the post-Shadour Sanders era for? For prime, in your estimation, the expectation level in the Big Twelve. I think the roster probably top to bottom might be a little better than it was a couple of years ago when he first started getting it going. Right. The star power is not there because Shadora was a high-level college quarterback.
And more than anything, Travis Hunter was a generational player who could take over games, and he did. You know, whether it was a big play on offense or causing a fumble to, you know, at the goal line to save them in a game. Like, that is, you can't replace that, that, that ability to just take over and make huge plays. Um, You know, they were a nine-win team last year who was in the top 25. I do think they'll take a step back.
But I think they can they can still be a bowl team. I don't want to say this is a rebuild year, but you have new quarterback, whether it's going to be. Caden Salter, who played a lot, has played a lot, was a starter at Liberty, or Juju Lewis, who's a 17-year-old quarterback who was a big recruit for them. I mean, I think at some point you're gonna see a lot of Juju Lewis. You know, he's not.
It's funny, I saw him like a month ago and he's I don't know if he's as quite as the size of Bryce Young, but about that. But it's not like Bryce Young and and um You know, Kyler Murray are not the comparison because they're more dynamic athletes than he is, but he is a really good passer. And there's still plenty of weapons around for him.
Okay. Keep going. That's our sound man who's feeling. That guy, what is going on? Don't worry about it, man.
It's all.
Sorry. It's all you and Emmys. That's why he wasn't invited to turn in right there. I'm sorry, go on. No, so I don't think they're going to fall apart.
I just think.
some of those some of those moments where where travis took over i don't know who who does that you know there's there's some good nfl talent like they have a big-time cornerback who you know physically is what they look for but again i still i i just think that they're they're They're kind of somewhere between where they were in year one of Dion when they won four games and last year when they were in nine. I think they're probably six or seven.
So, uh, in the couple minutes I have left with you, tell me about the freaks list that you put together and just uh give me some bullet points here and everyone can go to the athletic to read the whole thing. Yeah, so I've been doing it for 20 years, amazing, and it's gotten bigger and bigger, you know, in part with like you know, your friend Daniel Jeremiah and the NFL scouting world has really kind of leaned into it too. That's great. But it's been amazing to see what. When I started this, it was like, okay, who are the guys in each program that make their coaches and teammates say wow?
And by what they do, whether it's Yeah. The number two guy on the list, Caden Proctor, is a 6'7, 366-pound left tackle for Alabama. His strength numbers are insane. The numbers that blew me away and made me do a triple take were when I saw he vertical jump 32 inches and broad jumps, you know, nine and a half feet. It's insane.
It's crazy. It is insane.
So you're around the combine every year, right? And it gets freakier every year. There are five receivers at the NFL Combine this year who. didn't j like didn't jump that high. Chad Johnson, you know, all-time great player.
He didn't even jump that high. And this guy weighs like 150 pounds, almost 200 pounds more. You know, it's insane. It's crazy. It's crazy.
It's crazy. Do you have like a. Keep going. Do you got another one or two? Yeah, I mean, like, you know, there's.
There is there's a um Oregon has a defensive tackle, right? You saw, like, obviously, Oregon had a first-rounder last year and a guy, Jamari Caldwell, who was going to play in the NFL probably a long time. Yeah. Amari Washington is 6'3, 340 pounds, runs like 21 miles per hour. It's insane to be that fast.
Like, at some point, whatever it is going to be nine months from now, they're going to have a video of him just blowing past you. Probably, you know, like, I can see it. They're going to give you a 15-yard head start, and he's going to run you down. Like, I love it. I'll take it.
I'll take it. But then there's the flip side of it is like the smaller guys who are just incredibly strong that are 180 pounds and bench press more than twice their body weight. Like I said, Jeremiah Smith's my number one guy this year. But then there's another Buckeye, Sonny Styles, who's a terrific linebacker. Dad played in the NFL.
When you see him in person, you're like, oh my God, he looks just like kind of the Greek god. He was walking around Vegas at Big Ten Media Days. And when I talked to him for a while about this, he was just talking about how his dad had them doing all these plyometrics and agility stuff from the time they were five and six years old. Do you have a list of, before I let you go, is there a list like a spreadsheet of over the 20 years? Fastest times, fastest, you know, most I'm not that organized.
Well, I'm just saying, because I would just love to see how the development of the freakiness. That That what was freaky 10 years ago right now is just like, oh, okay, that's just another day that ends in one. Yeah, the only thing was Calvin Johnson was 20 years ago. We're not, you know, it's like.
So even there's something freaky from 20 years ago that would equally stand out to you. Oh, yeah. Like, like, I mean, if you ask me who are the 10 freakiest guys who have come through college football, like Calvin Johnson's in the top three that was 20 years ago. Megatron, man. You know, like the cool, one of the cool things about Jeremiah Smith, the best comparison I could come up with for him is Andre Johnson.
Wow. You know, Hall of Famer, Andre Johnson, like, because they are incredibly strong. They're both Miami kids. I think Jeremiah Smith is probably more polished at an early age. Jeez.
But You're talking about a guy who just ragdolls people, but he runs 23.5 miles per hour and is super strong. But like, so when I met Jeremiah Smith's dad last year and we were talking about this, and I brought up the the uh Andre Johnson, he goes, you know, I got a photo I'm gonna send you. JJ is like seven. And it's with him with Andre Johnson. And it's a really, you know, it's a cool photo of like a guy who at the time was, you know, on the path to be a Hall of Famer, but certainly wasn't at that stage of, you know, life.
Sure.
And a guy who. I don't want to say Jeremiah Smith's going to be a Hall of Famer. It's too soon to make that, but like the best player in college football. And. You know, the things that the common trait is the drive, the work ethic, and the toughness, not just the physical toughness, but like the mental toughness.
And I think people pouring into them, and it's really cool to see when it all comes together. Check it out on The Athletic. Great to see you, sir. Thanks for coming in here. Look forward to another season.
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So I tell Mark Norman and Shane Gillis, my two openers. Yes. I say, hey, we're doing the mall arena, we'll do two shows. We do one show Saturday night. Sells out at Friday.
Sells out at Wednesday, at Thursday. Do we have four shows? Guys, a little treat. Super Bowl tickets on me. Good seats.
$125,000.
Well, you're going for the Primo Primo. Yeah, well, I didn't know. My wife called and she goes, They just took $125,000 out of our account. There's something going on. You need to talk to me about something.
Are you going to South Africa for a month? I was like, no, we're going to the Super Bowl. I don't even like either of the teams. I don't even like either of the teams. See, now, now that this is your rookie experience mistake, is you need to check the prices before offering to take people in primo seats.
Or wait until the O-line comes over and they go, we need to get 15 tickets. Do you want some? I went, are you kidding me? One guy's like, well, you got to sit with my parents. I was like, I am getting along great with parents.
Is your dad drink? Because I flack out in front of your family like I do my family. This is the rub. Oh, no. They don't tell.
I'll tell you your seats until Friday. Get out of here! You don't know where you're sitting. I don't even know who I gave the money to! I don't even know where you're sitting.
Oh my god! Your manager, you're gonna pay me $125,000 for this and you gave it to me. Maybe like burning babies? No. Like I'm just sitting there going.
So you think Bitcoin's gonna really do well? I hope this money turns out. Matt Damon said we're cool. I heard Tom Brady's involved. This should be a new win-win run.
I'm sorry I'm laughing so hard and crying. I don't even know when I get my tight. Yeah. Bert and the pumpkin. We're the funniest heist ever.
Let's go to the pumpy bowl. Bert's going to the puppy bowl. My friends are so living. Oh, if I have bad seats, I'm gonna be living! You're all.
Oh my gosh. Oh my god. My wife is so angry at me. Oh! She thought you were robbed.
I should have helped out so many poor children, and I just throwing money. We have to know. There's able mining coal bones and I'm sorry. I'm sweating and laughing. Yeah.
The one 150, 125 grand in the hole. Oh my god. Good stuff with Bert Kreischer in all the years. Fantastic. It was just tough to understand him when he starts laughing at the moment.
Well, when he gets going, like you can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him. He can't stop himself. It's on our YouTube channel, everybody. I think Bill Burr's on the docket to come back here in September.
Yes. Nice. Not that one. Oh, oh, do you hear you? You want to go to the USS Constitution?
One of our favorites.
Okay. I love him. Bill Burr, everybody. He's so good. Bilbur, that's coming up in September.
I just love it. I love it. We have the comedians on. They're just, they make my day. There's no question about it.
Let's go to Noah in Portland, Oregon. He's been hanging on forever. What's up, Noah? Hey guys. What's going on?
Hey. Yeah. Hey. Thank you for taking my call. You got it.
First time, short time.
Okay. We'll take it. What's on your mind? Uh, I wanted to do uh win lost for my Panthers. The Carolina Panthers in Portland, Oregon.
Hey, now. You were the first one to call in and say, I want to do this.
So you've got the floor, man. You've got the floor. Carolina Panthers win-loss game. Noah in Portland. Oregon.
Can we start with tomorrow's game? Because it could get kind of rough. I'd like to.
Well, I mean, it starts at Jacksonville when it really means something.
So, what do you got? With Jacksonville, I was hoping about tomorrow's game against Cleveland because I think that's going to be our first win. I need an answer here though, no. What happens at the Jacksonville Jaguars? That's going to be a win.
At the Cardinals. Ooh, a win. 2-0 home for the Falcons. Win. That's a 3-0 start for the Carolina Panthers at the Patriots.
Yeah, we're coming up hot. We woke up. At the Patriots. Oh. That's gonna be a win.
That's 4-0 home for the Dolphins. That's going to be a lot. Four and one home for the Cowboys. With all due respect, that's going to be a win. Out of baby.
Five and one at the Jets. Uh That one, I'm excited for the Jets this year. That's going to be a loss. Five and two home for the Bills. That's definitely gonna be a lot.
Five and three at the Packers. Mm. That's gonna be a loss. Five and four, home for the Saints. I caught your interview with Tyler Shuck.
Amazing. I'm really rooting for him. That's going to be a win. All right, you're back. Six and four at the Falcons.
That can be a win. 6-0-7-4 at the 49ers on a Monday night. That's gonna be a loss. Seven and five, home for the Rams. That's gonna be a loss.
Seven and six off a buy at the Saints. Eight and six home for the Bucs. That's going to be a win. 9-6, home for the Seahawks on a Saturday. That's gonna be a loss.
9-7 at the Bucs. That's going to be a loss. 9-8 would be quite the season for the Carolina Panthers. Thanks for the call, Noah. Yeah.
You got it. There he goes. See you, Noah. 4-0 4-0 for the Carolina Panthers would be Shocking. Would be a storyline of September.
That would be a top five storyline in September. It would be the four and North Carolina Panthers. Seven and a half, their win total in the past. He has them winning the first four and then losing four of the next five. Then splitting the next four and splitting the final four.
So. You want to go quarters of the season. That's what he's got. Hey, you always look for a team that finished strong one year and then it bleeds into the next. Carolina is a prime candidate for that.
Yep. Prime.
So And they have only one nationally televised game, and that's at San Francisco on the. Monday nighter. of uh Thanksgiving week.
So, O's the mentalist is coming out of our green room shortly, an hour three. Still here on the Roku Sports Channel, everybody. Carolina, I mean, you can't consider Denver a sleeper team anymore. No. Okay, right?
For 2025? That's right.
No, no, no. Definitely not. Um Give me another sleeper team. Carolina is a prime candidate. Give me another one.
Arizona would be. Yeah. Another prime candidate. Free sleeper team. Yeah, Arizona.
How far down do you want to go? Seattle, I think, is kind of a sleeper team. What about your Patriots? Jacksonville. Are they a sleeper team, Canada?
Sleeper potential. Meaning what, though? About 500 and going above 100. Yeah, meaning like 10 wins. That's kind of a huge season.
Do you see Vrabel came out of a scrum bleeding from his cheek or something like that? You don't know what happened? Do you know what happened?
So they're joint practicing with Washington, where Drake Mayer reportedly outplayed Jaden Daniels. And. Trayvion Henderson in the backfield, picking up a blitz, pancakes Von Miller. Huge fight breaks out. Massive scrum.
Vrabel gets in the pile, pulling guys off. Will Campbell pulling guys off. Comes out of it, cheek bleeding. Take your heart pills and buckle up. I think, sir.
You are and you knew it, you sensed it. Even Coop. This was the greatest move they've made in quite some time. Trayvion Henderson, you are going to love. Him.
I need everyone to stop talking about it. Why? Because you want to draft him? Just do we need that we need that to sneak up on people.
Well, it will. It will because you know, rookies don't usually get the 20-25 carry treatment right off the bat unless they're a top 10 pick at the position. And Ramondre Stevenson is no piker. Still there. Antonio Gibson's still there.
So he'll be worked in. He'll be worked in to start, but I think he can show in the big-time ability and the receiving game. I think he's going to be. Home run hitter. Second half of the year.
You're going to really like him. Yeah. I was very excited when they drafted him, and I'm excited. And Will Campbell up front, too. Yeah.
And he pancakes. See, he pancaked, he pancaked Von Miller. Trayvion Henderson picked him up in pass blocking, pancakes Von Miller. Scrum. Vrabel, bleeding.
I just saw the video of the fight. Kind of stared towards the crowd in the stands, and people were jumping out of it. Yeah, okay. Um This guy. the reports of Drake May outperforming Dayden Daniels.
Yeah, three touchdowns.
Okay. So Jaden Daniels, zero. Almost 70% completion. Jane Daniels around 60.
So, what more metrics do you need? Are you yawning over there? I mean, it's. Um Joint practice. It's basically a scrimmage.
What are we doing? Back shouldering Kayshawn Booty for touchdowns. Come on now, people. That's it. Let's get excited.
That's a booty call. I am Michael Rosenbaum. I am Tom Welling. Welcome to Talk Bill, where it's fun to talk about Smallville. We're going to be talking to sometimes guest stars.
Are you liking the direction Plois is going in? Yeah, because I'm getting more screen time. That's good. But mostly, it's just me and Tom remembering. I think we all feel like there was a scene missing here.
You got me, Tom. Let's revisit it. Let's look at it. See what we remember. See what we remember.
I had never been around anything like that before. I mean, it was so fun. Talk Bill. Talk Bill. I just had a flashback.
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